Last week I wrote about festive fall arrangements, with pumpkins carved open and colorful table centerpieces placed inside them. This week, I will provide a profile of pumpkins and other cucurbits. Pumpkins are in the Cucurbitaceae family and are one of the two oldest food sources in North America (corn is the other). Seeds have been found in caves in Mexico dating back from 5000 to 7000 B.C.
If you peruse the farmers’ markets these days you will find a nice selection of pumpkins. One of my favorites for eating and for decorating is the Long Island Cheese pumpkin or Cucurbita moschata ‘Long Island Cheese’. It makes a great pie. Another exotic counterpart is ‘Musquee de Provence’ which is an heirloom from the south of France.
There is a seasonally appropriate, ghostly white pumpkin named Cucurbita maxima ‘Lumina’ that makes a delicious soup. If you are searching for Cinderella’s pumpkin, it goes by the name of Cucurbita maxima ‘Rouge Vif d’Etampes’, a French heirloom that was introduced into the U.S. in 1883 by the Burpee Seed Company.
As the bounty from the farmers’ markets will attest, fall is a wonderful season for a wide array of other winter squash. One of my seasonal favorites is ‘Delicata’, a sweet squash that has an edible rind and can be sliced and sautéed or baked in the oven. When selecting this squash, choose one that is heavy for its size.
The thrills and chills of the Halloween season are filling The Haunted Pumpkin Garden right now! And more hair-raising fun awaits in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden with the first of four Spooky Nighttime Adventures taking place this weekend. Afraid of the dark? We have plenty of ConEdison flashlights to help you illuminate the Whole Foods Market® Trick-or-Treat Trail while you listen for critters of the night.
There are many opportunities to immerse yourself in the Halloween spirit at NYBG. On October 18, 24, 25, and 31, capture a family photo with larger-than-life skeletons and costumed creatures, delight in the giant pumpkin displays, or even sit in on an eerie ghost story. For those who dare to journey along the meandering Mitsubishi Wild Wetland Trail, keep your eyes peeled for the colossal marsh monster!
Don’t forget that next weekend Ray Villafane returns to NYBG for our Pumpkin Carving Weekend. You won’t want to miss the chance to see his latest creepy creation come to life! Catch a sneak peek at Grand Central Terminal on October 17 when Ray will be there with his team, beginning work on a massive zombie carving. MasterCard® cardholders can also let their kids join in the fun with one of our Budding Masters Creepy Pumpkin Carving Adventures!
Click through for the full lineup of programs for the next three days, and come enjoy fall at the Garden!
The LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s new Humanities Institute will soon host its second symposium. NYBG has invited four experts in the field of human-impacted environments to share their thoughts this November 7 on The Changing Nature of Nature in Cities.
The Mitsubishi Wetland Trail is one of a handful of places on grounds that is getting a head start on displaying its fall colors. Check our Fall Foliage Tracker to catch when peak color will arrive at NYBG!
Every year, in celebration of Columbus Day and the advent of autumn, I conduct a Home Gardening Demonstration in the Fall Room of the Jane Watson Irwin Perennial Garden on autumnal centerpieces. Instead of getting my hands dirty, I get my hands gooey by carving exotic looking heirloom pumpkins and creating festive table arrangements.
I stand above the pumpkins with a sharp knife, grasp the stem for stability and start carving open the top. If you are carving a pumpkin with the intention of replacing the lid then you would place the knife at a 45-degree angle. Since I am carving with the intention of inserting a 4-inch square vase inside as a centerpiece holder, I carve straight down at a 90-degree angle. My objective is to create a clean edge and an area that is large enough so I can slip the vase in, leaving a small amount of wiggle room so that I can extract it with ease.
